Americans United - William Boykinhttps://www.au.org/tags/william-boykin
enThese Fundamentalists Are Not Going To Tolerate Legal Abortion And Marriage Equality. So There.https://www.au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/these-fundamentalists-are-not-going-to-tolerate-legal-abortion-and-marriage
<a href="/about/people/rob-boston">Rob Boston</a><div class="field field-name-field-blog-type field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/blogs/wall-of-separation">Wall of Separation</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="prose"><p>I opened up my <em>Washington Post</em> yesterday morning – yes, I still read a paper edition – only to see a full-page ad on page A7 headlined, “DECLARATION OF DEPENDENCE UPON GOD AND HIS HOLY BIBLE.”</p>
<p>“Oh, this ought to be good,” I thought.</p>
<p>Indeed, the ad didn’t disappoint. It stated that people have certain rights given to them by the Creator and among them “is the right to exercise our Christian beliefs as put forth in God’s Holy Bible.”</p>
<p>Fair enough. I don’t really know that anyone is trying to take away those rights. We have hundreds of thousands of Christian churches in America, all operating freely without government harassment. Christian ministries proliferate on radio, television and over the internet. They raise billions every year, tax free. Their ability to evangelize is limited only by their imaginations.</p>
<p>Then we get to the meat of things: The signers of this document declare that “God grants life at conception” and therefore they refuse to fund or support abortion. Of course, they aren’t required to do this because of something called the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyde_Amendment">Hyde Amendment.</a></p>
<p>The ad then moves on to marriage equality. Marriage, we are informed, “was instituted by God between one man and one woman. The Lord gave only this family unit the responsibility to have children and raise them in the fear of the Lord.”</p>
<p>It adds, “We also oppose same-sex marriage, polygamy, bestiality, and all other forms of sexual perversion prohibited by Holy Scripture” and asserts that the signers “commit to conducting our churches, ministries, businesses, and personal lives in accordance with our Christian faith and choose to obey God rather than man.”</p>
<p>Couple of things here. For starters, far-right fundamentalists can continue to assert that the only family that counts is one man and one woman with children, but the reality on the ground is quite different. Same-sex couples are raising children, as are single parents, blended families, extended families, families that formed by adoption, etc. When it comes to government policy, it makes sense to support them all. In fact, a real “pro-family” policy encompasses <em>all</em> families. (Whether those families choose to raise their kids “in the fear of the Lord” is up to them.)</p>
<p>Second, no one is going to require a church to recognize marriage equality or take part in a marriage between same-sex couples. We’ve been through this before. The First Amendment protects the right of all houses of worship and their ministers to decide which couples they will marry. Marriage equality has been legal in all 50 states since June of 2015. How many members of the clergy have been <a href="http://numberofministersforcedtomarrysamesexcouples.com/">jailed, punished or otherwise sanctioned</a> for refusing to officiate at the wedding of a same-sex couple? Zero.</p>
<p>Finally, it’s highly questionable that for-profit businesses have a “right” to refuse to provide services to people based on the owner’s religious beliefs. Many states and cities have laws that protect people, including members of the LGBTQ community, from discrimination.</p>
<p>Americans United has been following this issue closely through its <a href="http://www.protectthyneighbor.org/">Protect Thy Neighbor project. </a> AU’s belief is that religious freedom is obviously extremely important and should be protected, but that this principle doesn’t give anyone the right to harm others or discriminate against them.</p>
<p>Some familiar names are among the signers of the <a href="https://dependenceongod.com/">“Declaration of Dependence.”</a> Among them are pseudo-historian David Barton; James Dobson, founder of Focus on the Family; William G. Boykin, a retired Army general who now works for the Family Research Council; Religious Right attorney Kelly Shackelford and two TV preachers, Kenneth Copeland and Creflo Dollar.</p>
<p><img alt="" src="/files/James%20dobson%20by%20adelle%20banks.jpg" style="width: 800px; height: 585px;" /></p>
<p><em>You continue not listening to James Dobson, which makes him angry (RNS photo/Adelle M. Banks)</em></p>
<p>In other words, this is the same crew that has been trying to run all of our lives for a long time. Their rather crabbed interpretation of the Bible – a view that millions of Christians don’t share – is the yardstick by which they determine God’s law.</p>
<p>The group backing the petition is seeking one million signatures. As of this morning, they had less than 76,000. They claim that they will “undertake a full media blitz that will include major press and media coverage; television broadcasts; news programs; full-page ads in national newspapers, which will include the website address for millions of people to sign the Declaration; and more.”</p>
<p>It’s unclear what the ad's backers will do if a million people sign the petition and the group still doesn’t get what it wants. After all, even if they reach the magic number, it's likely that abortion will stay legal, and marriage equality will remain a constitutional right. Perhaps they’ll hold their breath until they turn blue?</p>
<p>I’d like to think that efforts like this are the last gasp of a fading Religious Right, but I’ve heard that movement pronounced dead or dying too many times in the past to believe that.</p>
<p>Still, a fellow can dream.</p>
</div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Issues:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/issues/descriptions-and-activities-religious-right-groups">Descriptions and Activities of Religious Right Groups</a></span></div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/james-dobson">James Dobson</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/david-barton">David Barton</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/william-boykin">William Boykin</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/creflo-dollar">Creflo Dollar</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/kenneth-copeland">Kenneth Copeland</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/kelly-shackelford">Kelly Shackelford</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/protect-thy-neighbor">Protect Thy Neighbor</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/declaration-of-dependence">Declaration of Dependence</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/marriage-equality-0">Marriage Equality</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/abortion">Abortion</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/focus-family">Focus On The Family</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/lgbtq-rights">LGBTQ Rights</a></span></div></div>Mon, 17 Oct 2016 14:42:50 +0000Rob Boston12415 at https://www.au.orghttps://www.au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/these-fundamentalists-are-not-going-to-tolerate-legal-abortion-and-marriage#commentsGenerally Nutty: FRC Executive Says Some In The Military Are Itching To ‘Take Out’ President Obamahttps://www.au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/generally-nutty-frc-executive-says-some-in-the-military-are-itching-to-take
<a href="/about/people/rob-boston">Rob Boston</a><div class="field field-name-field-blog-type field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/blogs/wall-of-separation">Wall of Separation</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-callout field-type-text-long field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">In the WorldNetDaily bizarro world, William Boykin is portrayed as a bold Christian warrior constantly kept down by appeasers, gays, secularists and a band of nefarious America haters.</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="prose"><p>Military leaders are so disgusted with President Barack Obama that they’d like to launch a coup d’état to get rid of him, but that pesky U.S. Constitution keeps getting in the way, says a retired Army general who now works for the Family Research Council.</p><p>“People I’ve spoken to would like to see the military ‘fulfill their constitutional duty and take out the president,’” William G. “Jerry” Boykin told <a href="http://www.wnd.com/2013/10/top-generals-obama-is-purging-the-military/?cat_orig=politics">WorldNetDaily</a> last week. “Our Constitution puts a civilian in charge of the military and as a result a coup would not be constitutional. You’re not going to see a coup in the military.”</p><p>Boykin added, “I talk to a lot of folks who don’t support where Obama is taking the military, but in the military they can't say anything.”</p><p>Reporting on Boykin’s shocking comments, <em>The National Journal</em> <a href="http://www.nationaljournal.com/defense/retired-general-some-in-military-want-to-take-out-the-president-20131101">indicated</a> that WorldNetDaily (WND) is “a website best known for pushing Obama ‘birther’ conspiracy theories.”</p><p>That’s just scratching the surface. If you’re not familiar with WorldNetDaily, it’s a site so far to the right that it make the Fox News Channel looks like the <em>People’s Daily World</em>. It’s chockfull of conspiracy theories, racist articles and all-around kookery.</p><p>A flavor of the site can perhaps be found in some recent headlines: “Newspapers directed: Cover-up Black Violence,” “Riot Warnings Over Food-Stamp Cuts” and “Claim: Obama Hid ‘Gay Life’ To Become President.”</p><p>Boykin apparently has a cozy relationship with this wacko site, and WND frequently reports on his antics. In the WND bizarro world, Boykin is portrayed as a bold Christian warrior constantly kept down by appeasers, gays, secularists and a band of nefarious America haters.</p><p>In the real world of actual facts, the man is an embarrassment who has uttered a string of extremist statements. Boykin first came to Americans United’s attention back in 2003. He had a habit of wearing his uniform to far-right events where he would bash Muslims and peddle “Christian nation” nonsense.</p><p>In one case, the White House had to issue a “global message” distancing itself from one of Boykin’s Islamophobic rants. He was eventually sanctioned for his antics with a punishment that was described as “appropriate” but not “significant.”</p><p>I’m not sure why the Army let Boykin go with a slap on the wrist. Perhaps officials knew he would soon be retiring. In any case, Boykin did leave the Army and ended up going to work for the FRC as an executive vice president. There he has continued to utter offensive nonsense on a regular basis. In other words, Boykin fits right in at the FRC.</p><p>Around the time Boykin <a href="https://www.au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/general-nuttiness-frc-hires-islam-bashing-ex-army-officer-for-top-position">was hired at the FRC</a>, for example, it came to light that he had accused Obama of plotting a “Marxist insurgency” backed by a secret military force “that would control the population in America.”</p><p>Two years ago, Boykin wrote<a href="http://www.texasinsider.org/sharia-law-or-the-constitution-america-must-choose/"> a column </a>suggesting that Islam isn’t fully entitled to First Amendment protections. He has also <a href="http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/boykin-no-mosques-america">argued </a>that no more mosques should be built in America.</p><p>The FRC has been labeled a “hate group” by the Southern Poverty Law Center. The Religious Right group chafes at this designation and insists that it merely provides a voice for the concerns of conservative Christians.</p><p>Actually, the FRC is increasingly a forum for views that are not conservative but reactionary. Boykin’s latest outburst, which amounts to an almost wistful rumination on the fact that our structure of government prevents military coups, is yet one more example of that.</p><p>I don’t claim to be an expert on military issues. A few semesters of ROTC in college was the closest I ever came to serving. But I do know this: There is a term for people who sit around expressing regret over the fact that our military doesn’t have the power to unseat a democratically elected president by force.</p><p>They are called extremists. </p></div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Issues:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/issues/descriptions-and-activities-religious-right-groups">Descriptions and Activities of Religious Right Groups</a></span></div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/william-boykin">William Boykin</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/family-reasearch-council">Family Reasearch Council</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/worldnetdaily">WorldNetDaily</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/islamophobia">Islamophobia</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/president-barack-obama">President Barack Obama</a></span></div></div>Mon, 04 Nov 2013 15:47:17 +0000Rob Boston9126 at https://www.au.orghttps://www.au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/generally-nutty-frc-executive-says-some-in-the-military-are-itching-to-take#commentsCourt-Martialed For Being Christian?: Don’t Believe Ithttps://www.au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/court-martialed-for-being-christian-don-t-believe-it
<a href="/about/people/rob-boston">Rob Boston</a><div class="field field-name-field-blog-type field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/blogs/wall-of-separation">Wall of Separation</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-callout field-type-text-long field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">The problem is not offering the Gospel to people. It&#039;s offering it repeatedly to those who have made it clear that they don’t want it.</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="prose"><p>So, have you heard the one about how the military is preparing to court-martial anyone who dares to say “God bless you” if someone sneezes?</p><p>OK, I’m being facetious. The stories being told about the Armed Forces by the Religious Right aren’t that strange – yet. But they are getting there.</p><p>A few weeks ago, a firestorm erupted after word got out that Mikey Weinstein, founder and president of the Military Religious Freedom Foundation, had met with Pentagon officials to discuss some of the concerns raised by his clients (the vast majority of whom are Christian, by the way) over heavy-handed proselytizing.</p><p>The Pentagon has reportedly prepared a document that addresses this issue. Nothing official has been released yet, but Religious Right groups promptly began spreading wild tales about how anyone who dared to share his or her faith was going to be unceremoniously tossed out of the military.</p><p>That is not what this has ever been about. Weinstein’s group is concerned about aggressive proselytizing operating down the chain of command, in other words, improper forms of coercion (something that is already illegal in the military). An invitation to a religious service is one thing. Constant, repeated efforts by superior officers to coerce subordinates to adopt a specific spiritual outlook is quite another.</p><p>The Family Research Council has been popping off about this issue with a series of increasingly hysterical emails. To hear the FRC tell it, you’d think every Christian is about to be tossed out of the Armed Forces.</p><p>In one FRC message, retired Lt. Gen. William “Jerry” Boykin, who now works for the FRC, blared, “If this policy goes forward, Christians within the military who speak of their faith could be prosecuted as enemies of the state. This has the potential to destroy military recruiting across the services as Americans realize that their faith will be suppressed by joining the military. Our brave troops deserve better. If chaplains and other personnel are censored from offering the full solace of the Gospel, there is no religious freedom in the military.”</p><p>Once again, the problem is not “offering the full solace of the Gospel.” It’s offering it repeatedly to those who have made it clear that they don’t want it.</p><p>The FRC is also trying to <a href="https://www.frc.org/get.cfm?c=CHECKOUT&amp;dmy=C26FE741-F701-7167-FAEF24971020DC81&amp;CFID=24295455&amp;CFTOKEN=4c980cf032489eb6-89787795-B5BA-C75F-D2EDD50603339900">raise money</a> over the issue through an “American Hero Defense Fund.” Referring to military personnel, the FRC asks, “If their rights are stripped away, how long will it be until all of us will be forced to keep silent about our faith in the public square?”</p><p>The FRC’s distortions are legion. Frankly, I was having a hard time keeping up with them. Thankfully, Jason Torpy, president of the Military Association of Atheists &amp; Freethinkers, has<a href="http://militaryatheists.org/news/2013/05/family-research-council-misrepresents-our-military/"> pulled them all together into one document</a> and debunked them.</p><p>Torpy points out that many of the alleged attacks on Christianity by military officials are really just attempts to enforce the separation of church and state or end special privileges that fundamentalists have taken for granted for too long.</p><p>In one case, Air Force Academy officials were told to stop touting an evangelical Christian program sponsored by Franklin Graham. As Torpy notes, it was never appropriate for the chain of command to endorse this evangelical program. It was turned over to chaplains for voluntary promotion.</p><p>In another, the FRC complained after Boykin was disinvited from speaking at West Point. The FRC claimed that this happened because Boykin is a Christian. In fact, officials pulled the invitation after learning of Boykin’s history of employing intemperate, anti-Muslim rhetoric.</p><p>Torpy has done a real public service in pulling all of these FRC falsehoods together and shooting them down. There’s a story to be told about the proper role of religion in the military. It shouldn’t surprise anyone that it’s quite different than the one the FRC wants you to hear.</p><p> </p></div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Issues:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/issues/workplace-discrimination-exemptions-religious-practice">Discrimination, Exemptions &amp; Religious Practice in the Workplace</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/issues/descriptions-and-activities-religious-right-groups">Descriptions and Activities of Religious Right Groups</a></span></div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/jason-torpy">Jason Torpy</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/mikey-weinstein">mikey weinstein</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/william-boykin">William Boykin</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/military-religious-freedom-foundation">Military Religious Freedom Foundation</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/military-association-of-atheists-freethinkers">Military Association of Atheists &amp; Freethinkers</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/family-research-council">Family Research Council</a></span></div></div>Mon, 20 May 2013 17:15:22 +0000Rob Boston8388 at https://www.au.orghttps://www.au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/court-martialed-for-being-christian-don-t-believe-it#commentsGeneral Nuttiness: FRC Hires Islam-Bashing Ex-Army Officer For Top Positionhttps://www.au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/general-nuttiness-frc-hires-islam-bashing-ex-army-officer-for-top-position
<a href="/about/people/rob-boston">Rob Boston</a><div class="field field-name-field-blog-type field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/blogs/wall-of-separation">Wall of Separation</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-callout field-type-text-long field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">The Family Research Council&#039;s new executive vice president believes that President Obama is planning a &#039;Marxist insurgency&#039; backed by a secret military force &#039;that would control the population in America.&#039; </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="prose"><p>Back in 2003, a general in the U.S. Army named William G. “Jerry” Boykin got himself in hot water because he had a habit of appearing, often in full uniform, before meetings of right-wing evangelicals and making intemperate comments about Islam.</p><p>During one appearance in Oregon, Boykin opined that Islamic extremists hate the United States “because we’re a Christian nation, because our foundations and our roots are Judeo-Christian.”</p><p>In another speech, Boykin regaled a crowd with a tale of how he captured an Islamic warlord in Somalia because “I knew that my God was bigger than his. I knew that my God was a real God, and his was an idol.”</p><p>Not surprisingly, some people thought this wasn’t helpful, coming as it did during the height of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. In fact, the White House had to issue a “global message” to Muslim nations letting them know that Boykin wasn’t speaking for the American government during these appearances.</p><p>Americans United and other groups called on then-Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld to fire Boykin, but in the end he received a <a href="http://www.au.org/church-state/december-2004-church-state/au-bulletin/gen-boykinrsquos-religious-crusade-draws">slap on the wrist</a>. An Army official described the penalty as “appropriate” but not “significant.”</p><p>The good news is that Boykin left the Army. The bad news is that he remains as extreme as ever – and he has a new job with the Family Research Council (FRC).</p><p>The <a href="http://www.frc.org/newsroom/lt-gen-jerry-boykin-joins-family-research-council-as-executive-vice-president">FRC has announced </a>that Boykin will join the Religious Right lobby as executive vice president. In a press release, the FRC said Boykin will “oversee day-to-day operations including policy, finance, development, communications, human resources, facilities, information technology, constituent communications and services.”</p><p>I’m sure Boykin will fit right in with the FRC gang. Boykin has spent the last few years making the round of Religious Right groups, where he makes speeches and pours on the crazy.</p><p>Like much of the FRC staff, Boykin seems to have a hard time understanding the First Amendment. In 2011, he wrote a column arguing that the First Amendment might not apply to Islam. Giving Islam too much freedom, <a href="http://www.au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/general-insanity-former-army-officer-launches-salvo-against-islam-and-first">he warned</a>, might lead to “the establishment of Islamic law and government, or Sharia, alongside or in place of civil law and government in this country.”</p><p>Boykin has since gone even farther, insisting that no mosques be built in America and asserting that Islam is not a religion.</p><p>During a <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1QcPr9TAF1g">television appearance</a>, Boykin asserted that President Barack Obama is planning a “Marxist insurgency” backed by a secret military force “that would control the population in America.” According to Boykin, the president’s health-care bill is part of this plot, and he likened it to activity by Nazi brownshirts.</p><p>Boykin has also asserted that school textbooks are designed to make children lose pride in America. He <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UMYvCnLx1_w">called supporters</a> of the Occupy Wall Street movement “useful idiots” fond of “using drugs and raping people.”</p><p>Yes, I think Boykin is a perfect match for the FRC. The only question is whether he plans to bring his own aluminum-foil hat or get one from the FRC supply closet.</p><p>The FRC, you might recall, has been <a href="http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/11/family-research-council-labeled-hate-group-by-splc-over-anti-gay-rhetoric.php">designated as a hate group</a> by the Southern Poverty Law Center for its constant attacks on gay people. With Boykin’s help, the organization might soon be able to win that designation for its Islamophobia.</p><p>The FRC and groups like it claim to be just plain folks – nice, normal Americans who just happen to be very religious and want to preserve their rights. The fact that they put an extremist like Boykin in a position of high authority shows how out there they really are.</p><p>And remember, these are the people who think they know what’s best for you.</p><p>P.S. In other news about the Religious Right, the Alliance Defense Fund, a far-right legal group founded by TV and radio preachers in the 1990s, <a href="http://www.alliancedefendingfreedom.org/page/new-name?referral=I0712RB">has changed its name</a> to the Alliance Defending Freedom. It’s a total rebranding with a new logo and everything!</p><p>Personally, I would have gone with something more honest like the “Alliance of Right-Wing Fundamentalists Determined to Use the Government to Shove Our Repressive Religion Down Your Throat,” but the ADF brass didn’t ask me. </p></div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Issues:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/issues/descriptions-and-activities-religious-right-groups">Descriptions and Activities of Religious Right Groups</a></span></div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/william-boykin">William Boykin</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/family-research-council">Family Research Council</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/alliance-defense-fund">Alliance Defense Fund</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/southern-poverty-law-center">Southern Poverty Law Center</a></span></div></div>Tue, 17 Jul 2012 16:35:05 +0000Rob Boston7316 at https://www.au.orghttps://www.au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/general-nuttiness-frc-hires-islam-bashing-ex-army-officer-for-top-position#commentsEastern Education: What Americans Could Learn from Poland’s Growing Church-State Separation Movementhttps://www.au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/eastern-education-what-americans-could-learn-from-poland%E2%80%99s-growing-church
<a href="/about/people/simon-brown">Simon Brown</a><div class="field field-name-field-blog-type field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/blogs/wall-of-separation">Wall of Separation</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-callout field-type-text-long field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Maybe we should buy the Religious Right a ticket to Poland so they could learn a thing or two about real reform.</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="prose"><p>At a time when the Religious Right wants to put church and state together like peanut butter and jelly, there is a growing movement for church-state separation in a Catholic-dominated Eastern European country.</p>
<p>In Poland’s recent parliamentary election, Palikot’s Movement, a new Polish party that favors legalizing gay marriage and more liberal abortion laws in addition to church-state separation, <a href="http://www.ajc.com/news/nation-world/report-polands-premier-to-1198370.html">finished in third place with 10.02 percent of the vote</a>. This means that the party will have 40 seats in Poland’s 460-member parliament, including one for Poland’s first transsexual lawmaker and one for its first openly gay lawmaker.</p>
<p>It will also mean that Palikot’s Movement may be able to advance its church-state separation agenda. According to a recent report by the Associated Press, <a href="http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jm6KZMuYf6qFuYIrNCpAuSs-tAGg?docId=974625a9750b4137b1819e543c62fe9d">party leader Janusz Palikot said he will seek the removal of a Christian cross</a> that hangs in the assembly hall of the Sejm, Poland’s lower house. He also said he hopes to end laws that make it a crime to insult a person’s religion.</p>
<p>The church is “absolutely too powerful,” Palikot said.</p>
<p>“It's only an illusion that Poland is so extremely Catholic. We want to remove religion from the public spaces,” he said.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, back in the United States the Family Research Council and its allies just wrapped up the annual “Values Voter Summit,” which is a chance for people who represent a narrow (and narrow-minded) portion of the fundamentalist Christian voting bloc to come together and figure out ways to bring church and state closer. About 3,000 people attended this year, as did almost all of the major GOP presidential candidates along with House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) and House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.).</p>
<p>If you read Rob Boston’s <a href="http://blog.au.org/2011/10/10/weekend-culture-warriors-some-things-i-learned-at-the-values-voter-summit/?utm_source=au-homepage&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_campaign=Recently-on-homepage">excellent recap of the Summit yesterday</a>, you know that retired Army Gen. William Boykin made the ridiculous assertion that parts of the Constitution are based on the Bible. The Constitution, he said, is based on sermons delivered during the colonial era, and he suggested that the Bible is somehow incorporated into the Constitution. He did not specify which parts, exactly, are based on the Bible because there aren’t any.</p>
<p>Boykin also said America’s churches have been silenced and face persecution. Not sure what led him to form that opinion, but the attendees at the Summit nodded right along with Boykin like bobble-head dolls.</p>
<p>Just as the Religious Right and the Tea Party have gained power thanks to disapproval of the Obama administration and the general state of the economy, reports indicate that part of the growth in popularity of Palikot’s Movement stems from increasing dissatisfaction among Poles with the establishment.</p>
<p>Palikot’s Movement sounds a lot like an alternative-universe version of the Tea Party, but instead of running around in colonial garb and demonizing the opposition, the new Polish party is trying to bring about positive change that includes separating church and state.</p>
<p>In a time marked by global uncertainty, it’s refreshing to see a country like Poland looking to a future of liberal progressivism to make things better rather than clinging to some rose-tinted, misguided idea of what the “good old days” used to be like, as the Religious Right is doing.</p>
<p>Maybe we should buy the Religious Right a ticket to Poland so they could learn a thing or two about real reform.</p>
</div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Issues:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/issues/churches-and-politics">Churches and Politics</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/issues/fighting-religious-right">Fighting the Religious Right</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/issues/lobbying-by-churches-and-religious-groups">Lobbying by Churches and Religious Groups</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/issues/other-issues-regarding-churches-and-politics">Other Issues regarding Churches and Politics</a></span></div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/eric-cantor">Eric Cantor</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/janusz-palikot">Janusz Palikot</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/john-boehner">John Boehner</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/palikots-movement">Palikot&#039;s Movement</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/poland">Poland</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/tea-party">tea party</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/william-boykin">William Boykin</a></span></div></div>Tue, 11 Oct 2011 16:22:05 +0000Simon Brown6170 at https://www.au.orghttps://www.au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/eastern-education-what-americans-could-learn-from-poland%E2%80%99s-growing-church#commentsWeekend (Culture) Warriors: Some Things I Learned At The Values Voter Summit https://www.au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/weekend-culture-warriors-some-things-i-learned-at-the-values-voter-summit
<a href="/about/people/rob-boston">Rob Boston</a><div class="field field-name-field-blog-type field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/blogs/wall-of-separation">Wall of Separation</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-callout field-type-text-long field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">The Values Voter Summit -- it&#039;s educational!</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="prose"><p>As I mentioned <a href="http://blog.au.org/2011/10/07/scaling-the-summit-this-weekend-au-will-be-up-close-and-personal-with-the-religious-right/?utm_source=au-homepage&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_campaign=Recently-on-homepage">on Friday</a>, I spent the weekend attending the “Values Voter Summit,” the annual Religious Right uber-conference sponsored by the Family Research Council and its allies. This was the sixth time I’ve been to this event, and I wasn’t the only one there from Americans United. (Barry Lynn and three other staffers were there as well.)</p>
<p>I can’t speak for those other folks, but I know I always learn things at the Summit. Naturally, I’m eager to share that information with you. So here are some tidbits you might not have known. Read them and be enlightened. (No, there’s no need to thank me.)</p>
<p><strong>The “occupy Wall Street” protestors have poor personal hygiene and are losers. </strong>This comes from right-wing radio talk-show host Laura Ingraham, who assured everyone that the protestors are “unwashed” and that they live “in their parents’ basement” and “are on Craigslist all day.” (House Majority Leader Eric Cantor was kinder; he described the Americans exercising their rights to peacefully assemble and engage in free speech about the economy and Wall Street greed as “mobs.”)</p>
<p><strong>Liberals despise marriage.</strong> Do you consider yourself a political liberal or a progressive? Are you married or do you aspire to be married? If so, what’s the matter with you? Liberals hate marriage, says Robert Rector, senior research fellow in domestic policy studies at the Heritage Foundation. Here’s the exact quote: “The left hates the institution of marriage. They simply hate it.” And, oh, you know how some high schools make condoms available? You thought that was to cut down on teen pregnancy, but Rector knows better. It is done “to get gay liberation in the classrooms.” Amazingly, this absurd bigot is often quoted in major newspapers as if he knew what he was talking about.</p>
<p><strong>If you don’t have the money to pay for college, you can just go to the public library. It’s free.</strong> Glenn Beck says this approach worked for him. Are you going to argue with success?</p>
<p><strong>Patriotic songs have the power to ward off terrorist attacks. </strong>Bryan Fischer, the American Family Association’s director of issue analysis for government and public policy, has made a career out of saying crazy stuff. It must be hard for Fischer to outdo himself every year, but somehow he does. (At times, I’m convinced that Fischer is walking street theater created by Dadaists. Research is ongoing.) Anyway, Fischer told the crowd that the reason we haven’t experienced a terrorist attack since 9/11 is because people attending Major League baseball games now sing “God Bless America” during the seventh-inning stretch instead of “Take Me Out to the Ballgame.” The Summit audience did not collectively cry out, “Seriously, dude, are you out of your mind?” Instead, they clapped.</p>
<p><strong>America’s churches are silent.</strong> Retired Army Gen. William Boykin told the crowd the church in America is not only persecuted, it is silent. That was news to me. I hear churches speaking out all of the time, from the right and left, on every conceivable issue. Most of them have denominational lobbying offices here in Washington specifically to make their voices heard on public policy matters. Maybe it’s time for a new hearing aid, General.</p>
<p><strong>Parts of the Constitution are based on the Bible.</strong> This came from Boykin again. What he actually said is that the Constitution is based on a series of sermons delivered during the colonial era, and he implied that the Bible is somehow incorporated into the Constitution. Unfortunately, he did not name the specific parts. I’m guessing that the top candidates include the Full Faith and Credit provision and the Interstate Commerce Clause.</p>
<p><strong>Ed Meese was one of the greatest figures of the 20th century. </strong> Meese, who served as attorney general during the Reagan administration, was honored at a banquet on Saturday night. Several speakers mentioned the Meese pornography commission. And we all know what a success that was. You hardly ever see that stuff around today.</p>
<p>Now you know why I go to the Summit every year. It’s educational!</p>
<p>OK, I’ve had some fun with this crew, but here’s what’s not funny: Religious Right zealots hold views like this, yet top congressional leaders and presidential hopefuls still flock to their meeting to seek support and promise to enact their agenda. Not so amusing, huh?</p>
<p>P.S. I’ve just scratched the fundamentalist surface here. We’ll post a full report online tomorrow at <a href="http://www.au.org/">www.au.org</a>. Don’t miss it.</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p><a href="../../../../../../2011/10/07/scaling-the-summit-this-weekend-au-will-be-up-close-and-personal-with-the-religious-right/?utm_source=au-homepage&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_campaign=Recently-on-homepage"><br /></a></p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
</div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Issues:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/issues/churches-and-politics">Churches and Politics</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/issues/fighting-religious-right">Fighting the Religious Right</a></span></div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/american-family-association">American Family Association</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/bryan-fischer">Bryan Fischer</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/ed-meese">Ed Meese</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/family-research-council-frc">Family research Council (FRC)</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/heritage-foundation">Heritage Foundation</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/laura-ingraham">Laura Ingraham</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/robert-rector">Robert Rector</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/values-voter-summit">Values Voter Summit</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/william-boykin">William Boykin</a></span></div></div>Mon, 10 Oct 2011 13:48:36 +0000Rob Boston6165 at https://www.au.orghttps://www.au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/weekend-culture-warriors-some-things-i-learned-at-the-values-voter-summit#commentsGeneral Insanity: Former Army Officer Launches Salvo Against Islam And First Amendmenthttps://www.au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/general-insanity-former-army-officer-launches-salvo-against-islam-and-first
<a href="/about/people/rob-boston">Rob Boston</a><div class="field field-name-field-blog-type field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/blogs/wall-of-separation">Wall of Separation</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-callout field-type-text-long field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Some people are proposing that we trash religious freedom in order to save it and that the best way to preserve our Constitution is to shred it.</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="prose"><p><strong> </strong></p>
<p>Longtime readers of “The Wall of Separation” might remember William “Jerry” Boykin, an Army general who in 2003 <a href="http://www.au.org/media/church-and-state/archives/2003/11/general-on-relig.html">sparked controversy</a> for giving speeches to fundamentalist Christian audiences during which he asserted, among other things, that Muslims worship idols and that the real enemy of America is not Osama bin Laden or Saddam Hussein but Satan.</p>
<p>In a 2003 appearance in Oregon, Boykin unleashed this gem: Islamic extremists hate the U.S., he said, “because we’re a Christian nation, because our foundations and our roots are Judeo-Christian.”</p>
<p>In another speech, Boykin recalled how he captured an Islamic warlord in Somalia because “I knew that my God was bigger than his. I knew that my God was a real God, and his was an idol.”</p>
<p>Things got so bad that the White House had to issue a “global message” to Muslim nations letting them know that Boykin wasn’t speaking for the American government during these appearances. This was a little hard to do since the man served as deputy undersecretary of defense for intelligence at the Pentagon and was often in uniform when the spoke at fundamentalist churches.</p>
<p>Eight years have passed. What’s Boykin up to now?</p>
<p>Well, the good news is that he retired and is no longer with the Army. The bad news is, he’s as extreme as ever.</p>
<p>Boykin has been making the rounds on the far-right rubber-chicken circuit, joining the growing chorus of Islam-bashers who made a nice living spreading horror stories about the coming imposition of sharia law in America.</p>
<p>In a <a href="http://www.texasinsider.org/?p=42440">recent column </a>published online, Boykin questions “whether or how the First Amendment should properly be applied to Islam” and asserts that “the ultimate outcome of blanket protection for Islam in all its manifestations on the grounds of ‘religious freedom’ would be the establishment of Islamic law and government, or Sharia, alongside or in place of civil law and government in this country.”</p>
<p>I’d like to assure Boykin that there are at least two obstacles to this nefarious Muslim takeover. One is the First Amendment. Properly interpreted by the courts, it protects us from any form of religion-based law.</p>
<p>The second factor is there just aren’t that many Muslims in America. It’s true that the Pew Forum reported recently that the American Muslim population is <a href="http://pewresearch.org/pubs/1872/muslim-population-projections-worldwide-fast-growth">expected to double</a> by 2030 – but even then it will still account for only 1.7 percent of the population. With numbers like that, I doubt they’re going to be able to force women into burqas and require men to grow beards – especially since not all Muslims believe men and women should even do those things.</p>
<p>What really irks me about Boykin is that he had the nerve to invoke the separation of church and state in his latest anti-Islam tirade. He complained that Muslims don’t recognize that principle.</p>
<p>I’ve got some news for you, Jerry: Neither do you. Boykin for years ranted and raved about how our great Christian nation was going to launch a new crusade against the Muslim hordes. That suggests he isn’t really interested in church-state separation.</p>
<p>I’m sure he’d gladly impose his own narrow understanding of Christianity on the rest of us through government action. He’s merely using a great constitutional principle as yet another club for his Muslim bashing.</p>
<p>When I hear Boykin and people like him talk about how we need to curb religious freedom for Muslims (or any other group), I can only shudder. What they are proposing is that we trash religious freedom in order to save it and that the best way to preserve our Constitution is to shred it.</p>
<p>It’s appalling, and we shouldn’t let him get away with it.</p>
<p>Islam is the religion of at least 1 billion people in the world. Some of them are violent extremists, but the vast majority of that faith’s members are not. Tarring everyone with the same brush, spreading hate and division and proposing new witch-hunts is simplistic. It also mocks the values of our Constitution.</p>
<p>We’ve been down this road before. It is a dangerous place to be.</p>
<p>In the 19th century, we looked with suspicion upon immigrants from certain nations because they spoke foreign tongues, belonged to the “wrong” religions and had their own customs. Laws were passed to keep them out. During World War II, we put Americans of Japanese descent into internment camps merely because of their background. In the 1950s, many people lost their jobs and had their lives ruined because of political beliefs they may have once held or gatherings they might have attended.</p>
<p>The lesson of history is crystal clear: Looking for new enemies to demonize isn’t the answer. So what is the answer? Let’s try this: Instead of trashing our Constitution and proposing that the rights in it shouldn’t apply to certain Americans, let’s cling to its values all the tighter – and make certain that all Americans are under its protection.</p>
<p>P.S. Our friend Kyle Mantyla at PFAW’s Right-Wing Watch reports that Boykin’s speeches about the Obama administration are <a href="http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/boykin-everywhere-i-go-people-ask-when-do-we-take-arms-against-obama">increasingly insane</a>. In one television appearance, Boykin asserted that Obama is planning a “Marxist insurgency” backed by a secret military force “that would control the population in America.” According to Boykin, the health-care bill is part of this plot. It’s alarming to me that a crank like Boykin was ever in a position of authority in our military.</p>
</div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Issues:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/issues/fighting-religious-right">Fighting the Religious Right</a></span></div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/islam">Islam</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/pew-forum-religion-and-public-life">Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/right-wing-watch">Right Wing Watch</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/william-boykin">William Boykin</a></span></div></div>Tue, 15 Feb 2011 19:55:42 +0000Rob Boston2164 at https://www.au.orghttps://www.au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/general-insanity-former-army-officer-launches-salvo-against-islam-and-first#comments